6.16.2009

My trip to Bonnaroo 2009

This past week I've been busy moving out of Ohio and locking down an internship in South Carolina (I get to keep the moniker! Huzzah!) so I haven't really been around much. On Thursday my friend Phil (IloveJackWhite) and I caught The Dead Weather at Coyote's in Louisville. Here's a quick breakdown: Opening act Cut in the Hill Gang (from Covington) gets a thumbs up, Dead Weather gets a thumbs up, Coyote's and weird dudes who bring their claustrophobic 4' 10" girlfriends into the pit at a rock show and then get mad when they're crowded get two massive thumbs down.

After we caught that show, we drove back to the East End to load up and make the trek down to Bonnaroo. I won't bore you with a day-by-day recap, but here are the highlights and some pictures.

+ I got to meet Raphael Saadiq, who signed my guidebook and kept a pleasant demeanor despite playing two shows on a hot Tennessee Saturday afternoon. If you don't know who he is, you should check him out. You'll like him. Promise.

+ Trent Reznor announced that their performance at Bonnaroo will be the last show they'll ever play in the United States. I missed most of the show but made it over there for that announcement and the following "The Hand That Feeds." I'll believe it when I see it.

+ I got to see David Byrne. This warrants two mentions. Yeah, that was the best show I've seen in a while.

+ I finally got to try the Silent Disco, which is just like a DJ playing in a club, except the music comes through individual set of wireless headphones. I got in there at about 1:45 a.m. and lost my shit. I was given the floor at one point.

A picture I took from the top of the Ferris wheel. You can see the main stage in the back to the left.

Robert Smigel was there with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. I snapped this pic at about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday night. He seemed pretty tired.

The crowd behind us at Rodrigo y Gabriela. We were in the first row.

David Bryne. The encore of "Burning Down the House" kicked all of our asses.

At last year's Bonnaroo, Kanye West kept the crowd waiting until about 4 or 5 in the morning for reasons that remain unclear for a lot of people. Anyway, graffiti about Mr. West and feelings towards his punctuality ruled the day. This one was my favorite.